Howling at the moon
by Bouncy cat
Summary: Story about the team in an alternate universe where there are shapehifters. Eventually Steve/Danny


Even through the sound of his father's voice, and the crackling of the tape, Steve heard the soft sound of the door being opened. Whoever it was was making an effort to be quiet. Automatically he tilted his head, trying to track the intruder's progress. It was a lot less efficient in this shape. Human ears really weren't made for efficient tracking.

Quickly and quietly he shut of the recorder and repacked the toolbox, and then he turned to face the intruder head on.

"You, hands up," a short blonde man shouted as he busted into the garage.

As soon as Steve spotted the gun he whipped out his own, aiming at the centre of the man's forehead. He was not in the mood for games, if this was one of the bad guys, he would shoot to kill.

"Don't move!" the blonde shouted.

"Who are you?" Steve demanded.

"Who are _you_?" the blonde guy countered, but immediately after he answered the question. "I am detective Danny Williams-"

"Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarret"

"Put you weapon down, right now!"

"No, you put _your_ weapon down, and show me your ID!"

The demands from both sides increased in volume as they each tried to get the other to give in first. Steve moved forward, approaching the other guy, but the blonde backed away.

That was when the scent hit Steve. This guy was one of his own kind. For some reason the realisation calmed him down some. "I'm not putting my gun down," he stated.

"Neither am I," the blonde, _Danny_, answered.

"Use your free hand, take out your ID." Steve ordered.

"Please, after you."

Steve held back an exasperated sigh. "At the same time?" he suggested.

"At the same time?"

"Yeah, at the same time!" Steve did _not_ like this Danny guy's tone.

"What…like at the count of three?"

"Sure, okay, three's good."

"One"

Steve watched like a hawk while Danny moved his hand to the side and down. He mirrored the movement, but kept his full attention on the man standing in front of him.

At 'two' they both had their ID's up and Steve could see the Honolulu P.D. badge. The 'three' Danny muttered came out sounding half relieved, half embarrassed. He seemed to hesitate for half a second, but then he visibly gathered himself up and continued. "Listen, I'm really sorry about your father but you can't be here right now, this is an active crime scene."

Steve watched while Danny spoke, the other man's entire stance was apologetic and Steve knew it wasn't just because of his father. This was one of those situations where the two cultures they were both part of collided. The human side of Danny probably insisted that he was a detective and that he needed to keep his crime scene safe from people who didn't know what they were doing. That side of him would think he had every right to be here in Steve's dad's garage. But his other side…his other side would be acutely aware of the fact that he was intruding, quite violently, in another male's territory. A male who was bigger, stronger and faster than him and who would be completely within his rights if he wanted to forcibly remove Danny from the house.

The temptation was there of course, but the apology in Danny's voice mollified Steve a little. He gestured vaguely to the rest of the garage. "Doesn't seem that active." Even as he said it he could feel his temper rising again. Why was there no one here beside this haole cop? There should have been an entire team of people here, going over the place with a fucking microscope or something.

"I can't share any information with you-"

"Hesse wasn't here alone when my father was murdered," Steve interrupted, "someone was sitting at the desk in the study, there was a space cleared for a thirteen inch laptop and my father hated computers." He saw Danny swallow, saw in his eyes that he wanted to discuss Steve's theories. He didn't though.

"I'm gonna ask you again…" Danny said, voicing it as a statement rather than a question, "you gotta leave."

Frustrated about the lack of response, Steve grabbed to toolbox. "You've got it."

"And you can leave the box. That is evidence. You _know_ that." Frustration coloured Danny's voice.

Steve directed a cold smile at the annoying detective. "I came with this," he lied, gesturing to the toolbox.

"_No_. You didn't come with it. I can see the dust void it left right here on the counter. What's in the box? What are you hiding?"

Steve countered with his own question, one that not so-subtly showcased his lack of faith in the other man's abilities. "How long have you been with Honolulu P.D.?

The volume went up again. "None of your business. What are you, Barbara Walters?"

Steve tried to keep a grin off his face. Seemed like he hit a nerve there. "No. It _is_ my business if you're investigating my father's death."

" I _am_. And I'd like to get back to that. So the sooner you leave the sooner I can!"

"Anything you say." Steve said, not even trying to keep the sarcasm from his voice. He turned to leave, toolbox still in hand.

"Leave the box or get arrested. Alright?" Danny said, tension dripping from his voice.

Steve's temper flared. He could hear in the detective's voice that he wasn't at all happy about having to confront him, but Steve needed that box and this…_runt_…was challenging him in his own territory. "You gonna call for back-up?" With that one sentence he let the guy know that he wasn't giving up the box without a fight, and they both knew Danny wouldn't be a match for Steve without help.

"An ambulance." Danny mumbled.

The guarded look on Danny's face gave Steve pause. If they continued on this track one of them was going to get injured, most likely Danny, and despite his irritation with the guy, part of him realized he was just trying to do his job the way he'd been taught. He was a bit anal about it, yeah, but that didn't make him a bad guy and despite the challenge and the annoyance, he didn't particularly want to hurt him. Maybe there was another way though, one that would ensure that Steve got his way and that would allow Danny to give in without compromising his precious work ethic.

One short phone call to the governor later, the case was his and he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel some satisfaction when he walked out of there with his father's toolbox and left detective Danny Williams standing empty-handed in the garage with his arms crossed defensively.

Of course he felt just a little bit like a dick after talking to Danny's captain and finding out that Danny had been putting some real effort into Steve's father's case. He was going to need the information Danny had dug up so far and he was probably going to need the man's skills and experience too. The decision was quickly made. He was going to make the other man his partner. Whether they would actually be able to work together depended entirely on Danny's attitude. In human terms, Steve was the boss, and on the shifter side of the equation Steve was definitely the alpha. He could accept a little mouthing off and if Danny had a valid point Steve would listen, but if Steve gave an order he expected it to be followed. The only question was, would Danny follow him?

* * *

><p>It was pouring outside when Steve got out of the cab he'd taken to Danny's home. He rushed to the door and gave a short brisk knock. The door opened almost immediately and once Steve could see inside he realized why. As small as this apartment was, it was physically impossible to be far from the door at any moment. It really was the shittiest apartment he'd ever seen.<p>

As soon as the door opened he waved the case file in Danny's face, stated his questions and walked in. There was none of the polite ceremony their kind usually adhered to. He didn't ask for permission to enter the other's territory, and as soon as he was in he started touching stuff. Usually that was another big no-no.

In this case, it was a test.

And Danny responded beautifully.

Sure there was a little posturing, a little back-talking, but as soon as Steve ordered Danny to 'enlighten' him about the case, his gaze dropped down for a moment and he started talking.

When Steve suggested they go talk to Duran, Danny started sputtering again. "Whoa hoh, are you suffering from dementia? This is no longer my case!"

"The captain said you transferred in from New Jersey six months ago, so your eye's still fresh"

"You know, uh, I appreciate it, but my psych eval is not for six weeks-"

Steve interrupted him. "Fold-up bed, no ring on your finger, you obviously moved here to be close to your daughter, which means in between visits all you got is your job and you take pride in it. That's what I'm looking for." He turned towards the door, expecting Danny to follow.

"Yeah, but you know what," Danny said, "it's guys like you who think they know how to do everything better and that only makes my job harder."

Steve could hear the frustration just dripping from Danny's voice. Sounded as if he'd dealt with 'guys like him' before and it didn't go too well. The thing was though, what happened before had no bearing on what was happening right then and Danny was just going to have to suck it up. "You've got no choice detective." Steve said with a certain level of satisfaction. "The governor gave me jurisdiction and I'm making you my partner." He looked Danny straight in the eyes and let a little bit of a challenge shine through. "We're going to get along great."

He walked out and hid his grin when Danny followed him only a few seconds later. So far so good.

In the car Danny seemed to relax a little, maybe because driving offered him some form of control. Steve decided to allow it for now and made himself comfortable in his seat, which seemed to calm Danny even further. He even answered Steve's question about his ex-wife, opening up a little about how his marriage had ended. Then Danny's kid called. It was a good sign for their future partnership that Danny already felt safe enough in Steve's presence to practically babytalk to his daughter. It was only when Steve asked who 'Danno' was that the man clammed up again.

"Don't."

"Hnn?" Steve gave his partner a curious look.

"Just-" Danny shook his head.

"Okay." Steve agreed easily. There would be time enough in the future to learn more about his new partner.

"Thank you."

The quiet thanks took Steve a little by surprise. Danny sounded like he meant it. Like he knew Steve could have pushed the issue and he was grateful that he hadn't. In a way it was an acceptance of their roles. Basically, Danny had just acknowledged that Steve had the right to ask questions like that and expect an answer. The acceptance put Steve at ease too and the rest of the drive passed in a comfortable silence.

Then of course their first real police work together went to hell in a handbasket.

Danny got grazed, Duran took a hostage and in the end Danny put a bullet through the man's head to prevent him from shooting Steve. It was an ugly situation and Steve hadn't handled it well. It irked him that maybe he should have listened to Danny when he said to wait for back up, but hell, this case was personal and Steve's patience wasn't what it normally was.

He was so focused on connecting the dots between Hesse and Duran that he didn't notice his new partner getting worked up. When Danny said he should thank him for saving his life, he didn't recognize the remark for what it actually was. Danny was asking for acknowledgement, reassurance even. The correct answer would have been somewhere along the lines of 'it's okay you shot him, you did it to save my life. Thanks'.

Instead he focused on the negative, that their only lead in his father's murder investigation was now dead, and Danny's remark about him being pretty dense for someone who had just lost his father just pushed a whole lot of buttons that didn't need pushing right then. Steve flipped. "What did you say? What did you just say to me?"

When Danny started getting in his face the rage just took over. "I'm warning you," Steve nearly growled, "take your finger out of my face".

Danny ignored the warning. "Listen to me!"he said, "You son of a bitch!"

The words Steve could have ignored, but when the finger Danny had been waving in his face poked his chest he lost it. With one smooth, practiced move, he had Danny on his knees with his arms bent backwards in position that he knew from experience was extremely painful. "What did I tell you," he said through gritted teeth, "I warned you, in front of all these nice people."

Two police officers approached hesitantly. "It's fine," he told them, ignoring Danny hissing in pain beneath him. "Go back to work. It's fine." The look in his face was enough to make them back off.

"Now," he continued to Danny, "you don't have to like me, but right now there's no one else to do this job."

"Okay," Danny finally said, voice strained from the pain. "Let me go."

Steve felt a fierce sense of satisfaction at Danny's submission.

It was short-lived, because a moment later Danny turned and punched him. "You're right," he heard the other man mumble as he walked away. "I don't like you."

Back in the car, when he'd calmed down, Steve wanted to punch himself too. The rapport he'd built with Danny before was gone. He'd screwed this up. As Danny's boss, hell…maybe even as his alpha…, he had responsibilities. Danny _was_ his responsibility. That meant making sure he didn't get hurt if it was at all avoidable. It also meant making sure that Danny knew what was expected of him, and letting him know whether he was doing a good job. In his preoccupation with Hesse and Duran he'd failed at all three today. He'd gotten Danny shot, he hadn't taken a single moment to talk about a plan or explain to Danny what he wanted from him, and afterwards he'd let Danny stew and he'd been too pissed off and frustrated to have a normal conversation with the man. Way to fuck up a partnership...

When they'd been on the road for a while and he'd given Danny some time to cool down he cautiously tried to open the lines of communication again. "How's the arm?"

Danny wasn't having it. "Let's just not talk."

"You mean right now, or ever again?"

"Just…both, okay?"

The two of them not talking was not what Steve had planned. He had the feeling that if he allowed Danny to create distance, their chances of working together successfully would become slim to none. No, Danny needed to vent, and he needed to do it now. All Steve had to do was to give him an excuse to rant. "You know what," he said, "I think I might know why your wife left you."

"Really?"

Steve had to bite back a smile. "Yeah, you're very sensitive."

And Danny was off. "Sensitive huh? You think I'm sensitive? When did you come to the conclusion that I am sensitive? Huh? Was it when a bullet was tearing through my flesh? Was that when I seemed sensitive to you? Huh? I am _really_ happy that you are not afraid of anything. Okay? I'm glad you have that G.I. Joe thousand yard stare from chasing shoe bombers around the world. But in civilized society we have _rules_. It's the unspoken glue that separates us from jackals and hyena's, alright?"

Steve couldn't keep the amusement from his voice. "Jackals and hyena's?"

"Animal planet! Whatever, okay? The point is, rule number one, if you get someone shot, you apologize!"

And that was his cue. "I'm sorry." Steve said, and he meant it.

Danny didn't seem to hear though, he just kept ranting. "You don't wait for a special occasion-"

"Sorry."

"-like birthdays-"

"Sorry."

"-freaking presidents day-"

"Hey man, I'm sorry, okay? I said I'm sorry, I'm sincerely sorry. That was what I was trying to tell you…last year…when this conversation first started."

That seemed to have taken the wind out of Danny's sails. He watched the man struggle for a bit. It was ridiculously easy to read the emotions playing out on his face.

Finally Steve got his answer. "Your apology is noted," Danny said. "Acceptance is pending."

Steve decided to accept that. After all, he had fucked up rather badly. He would need to earn back Danny's trust.

Chin Ho Kelly was another shifter. Steve had known this from the moment he'd been introduced to him years ago. Chin had still been a rookie back then. It was a bit of a gamble to ask him to join their task-force. Not just because of Chin's past, but because if he agreed to join they'd have a task force consisting of three shifters already.

Steve had no idea whether the governor even knew who on this island was a shifter, she was a regular human herself after all. If she did know, or found out somehow …he had no idea whether she would object. It wasn't unusual in the military branches to form groups of shifters. Their kind did tend to gravitate towards each other and the bonds they formed were strong, whether they were mating bonds or bonds of friendship. But he wasn't forming a SEAL team right now, he was setting up a task force of cops, and cops were subject to the rules of _civilized society_, as Danny called it, to a far greater extend than any SEAL team. Danny seemed pretty set on proper procedures and the like though, so maybe _he_ could keep them all in line.

Chin agreed to join their task force and Steve could tell from the gratitude in his eyes and the way the way they were about to spill over, that Chin would follow him anywhere. Danny meanwhile, quietly…well not exactly quietly, more like loudly but resignedly, followed his lead.

When Steve saw Chin's cousin, Kono, punch the guy who'd cut into her wave, he knew they'd found the final member of their task force. And of course, she was a shifter. Steve finally had to admit to himself that yes, he'd created an impromptu shifter pack. And it might not be entirely unrelated to the fact that he missed his old pack…his team.

It would take time to build bonds strong enough to rival those of his old pack, but with these four, it might actually work.


End file.
